THE trial of two men accused of conspiring to murder Celtic manager Neil Lennon and others was told today that three components of a suspect package were bought on the same day in the same store.

A sports watch, travel bottle and bubble envelope were all purchased from B&M Bargains in Stevenston, North Ayrshire.

The jury at the High Court in Glasgow was told the shop was situated between Kilwinning and Saltcoats.

They were shown a receipt dated April 14 last year with the three items, each costing 99p, on it.

The court was shown a photo of a package from the Kilwinning postbox which was seen to be addressed to lawyer Paul McBride QC at the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh.

Detective Sergeant Andrew Wright of the major crime investigation unit was asked about the contents of the package sent to Mr McBride and he told the court that there was a surgical glove inside the package.

Det Sgt Wright said: "The glove was wrapped round the neck of the bottle."

He added: "The glove formed part of the contents of the package."

Police took possession of the glove and it was sent to the forensic explosives laboratory, the court heard.

Trevor Muirhead, 43, and Neil McKenzie, 42, are accused of conspiring to murder Mr Lennon, former MSP Trish Godman and Mr McBride, as well as various people in the premises of Cairde Na Heireann, by sending improvised explosive devices to them.

The indictment includes an allegation that Muirhead and McKenzie sent Mr McBride a package containing a plastic bottle containing a quantity of petrol, with wire attached to it, a plastic glove, nails and a watch component, which they believed comprised an improvised explosive device capable of igniting and exploding, causing severe injury and death to another person.

Earlier, the court was told that packages sent to Mr Lennon, Ms Godman and the republican organisation Cairde Na Heireann had not been franked despite appearing to have gone through the postal system, a court heard today.

Postman Ross McDonald said it was "unusual" that the packages, all of which would have gone through the mail centre in Springburn, Glasgow, had not been franked.

The packages, which were sent within two days of each other in March last year, were all in brown envelopes with printed white labels.

Mr McDonald had tried to deliver the package to Cairde Na Heireann, at the Gallowgate, Glasgow, on March 28.

He told the court the shutters were down so the envelope was returned to the Glassford Street post office before being diverted back to the delivery office in Baird Street via the mail centre in Springburn, which handles all the post in the west of Scotland.

Mr McDonald, who is based at the Baird Street office covering the G1-G4 postcodes, said if the package could not be delivered it would eventually be returned to the sender.

However, if no return address was provided on the envelope it would have been opened by Royal Mail staff.

Muirhead, from Kilwinning, Ayrshire, and McKenzie, from Saltcoats, Ayrshire, deny all the charges against them.

After two failed attempts to deliver the package on March 28 and 29, it was sent to Royal Mail's National Returns Centre in Belfast.

David McCavana, 41, head of the centre, said he spoke a little Gaelic and explained that Cairde Na Heireann meant "Friends of Ireland".

He said the package was X-rayed twice, which showed a quantity of nails, a "light sensitive diode", a bottle and a wire.

Mr McCavana said he was unsure if there was a power supply in the package.

The liquid was tested under his supervision and it did not come up as "hazardous", he said.

Mr McCavana told the court he thought it was something resembling a "hoax device".

He also said the centre interacts with the police "seven or eight times a year" about suspicious packages.